Samus and Batman:Part 3
by thedarkknightreturns
Summary: Part 3 of the series. Sorry for the long wait, I suffered from major writer's block.


Samus and Batman:Part 3

Alfred was dusting the statues in the main hall when Bruce came storming towards him. "Is there something wrong, sir?", asked Alfred. "No.", said Bruce, though, of course, his tone of voice indicated otherwise. He walked past Alfred and started up the stairs. "Master Bruce?", Alfred said to him. Bruce didn't even look back at Alfred. He continued up the stairs until he was out of sight. "Hmmmm...", Alfred thought out loud. He set aside his feather duster and walked towards the manor's elevator.

Alfred walked out of the elevator doors to find Samus sitting at Bruce's computer. The computer was not in use, and Samus had her head down on the desk. "Miss Aran...", Alfred said. Her head rose to look at him. The whites of her eyes were light red. She had been crying. "Oh, dear.", Alfred said. "How do you put up with him?", Samus asked despairingly. "It is...difficult at times, I admit. Master Bruce has never been one to make friends with others. He is getting increasingly withdrawn, I've noticed.", Alfred replied. "That doesn't even begin to describe it. He became so angry that he punched me! Look!", Samus said. She pushed her golden hair back, and Alfred saw a bruise that had begun to form at the back of her jaw. "Perhaps you should let me sort it out with him, Miss Aran.", said Alfred.

Bruce was in the master bedroom, looking at a photograph of his parents. He had a violent urge to throw it across the room and let the frame shatter into pieces. It was all because of _them _that he always felt guilty. It was all because of _them_ that he had to go on with this miserable life. It was all because of _them _that he was an orphan. Immediately after he thought this, he felt even worse than he had before. It wasn't because of them. It was the killer, who shot them, who was to blame. He was an orphan because of that wretched man. Joe Chill. The man who killed his parents. For years, he desired to kill him. But, when he became Batman, he had to put his own feelings aside. Bruce sat on the bed, his face in his hands. He felt sixty years older all of a sudden. He had endured enough hardship in his twenty five years of life than many others had in eighty. He had promised himself to rid Gotham of evil, but so far it felt like he hadn't even made a dent in it. He had saved the city numerous times, of course, but crime still ran throughout the city like a disease. It seemed hopeless. As Bruce was deep in thought, he saw, out of the corner of his eye, someone open the door. "_What?_", Bruce said impatiently. "You are going to apologize to Miss Aran, sir.", Alfred replied. "Or else what?", Bruce challenged. "Then you shall have to find yourself a different butler. I daresay that you will have a difficult time finding someone who you can trust with your secret identity.", Alfred said. "Why do you even give a damn, Alfred?", said Bruce. "I give a damn, because your father once trusted me with the thing that he cared about most in his life. You." Bruce was suddenly at a loss for words. He stared at Alfred for a moment. He knew what he had to do. He walked out of the room, and started down the stairs, then walked to the elevator.

"...so please forgive me.", Bruce finished. Samus stood silently, staring at him, with a neutral look on her face. Then, her face broke into a smile, revealing her even white teeth, as she threw her arms around him and embraced him. "Of course I forgive you.", she said sweetly. _What is this?, _Bruce thought to himself. If someone had punched _him_, he would have felt the urge to punch them back, not forgive them on the spot, and then _hug _them. He quickly pulled himself away from her. "PDA...isn't very appropriate right now, Samus.", said Bruce awkwardly. "PDA?", asked Samus. "Public display of affection.", Bruce said. "Well, it's not like there isn't anyone else around, now, is there?", she replied. "...we have work to do.", said Bruce. He nodded towards the supersoldier in the corner, shackled to a metal slab.

As Batman stood over the unconscious supersoldier, Samus finished putting on her Power Suit. "Scan him.", said Batman. Samus activated her Scan Visor and scanned the supersoldier. _A new (Creatures) entry has been downloaded to your Logbook. Morphology: Galactic Federation Super Soldier (prototype). Human male with enhanced speed, strength, and stamina. Still vulnerable to most conventional weapons. Fights best using melee attacks in hand-to-hand combat. Dislikes extremely loud noises. Supersoldier has lost ability of speech and reasoning, due to Phazon radiation. _As Samus finished reading this log entry, her expression turned to that of surprise. How long had the Federation been experimenting with Phazon? "Well?", Batman said. "He's been mutated by Phazon.", Samus replied. "I thought that was a rare material to come by.", said Batman. "The planet Tallon IV has it in large quantities.", Samus explained. "Is this radiation dangerous?", Batman asked. "Not anymore. It only lives in this supersoldier's body now. He's absorbed all the radiation.", Samus said. Batman took out a batarang from his utility belt, and made a small cut in the mutant's arm. "What's that for?", asked Samus. "I need a blood sample if I want to find a cure." "And what am I going to be doing while I'm waiting?", Samus said. "You're going to be training. Without your suit for help.", replied Batman.

Samus slowly walked backwards, away from the hideous monsters that she saw. One of them was a blob-like creature, with eyes that were completely black, long mangled hair, a massive mouth, sharp teeth, and blood pouring from its mouth. A second monster had a mouth in its leg, with arms coming out the back of its head. It had one eye where the nose would regularly be, and no mouth at all. However, the most horrifying monster of all was a devil-like entity, with two large horns. Samus struggled to not look at what was hanging from the horns. Her parents' heads were speared through the monster's horns, with no bodies attached to them. Her mother's head looked at her. "Why did you fail us, Samus? You could have done something...and you failed. Why?", she said in a guttural tone. "You...aren't real!", she said. She looked at the entire army of skeletons, zombies, demons, ghosts, and grotesque monsters, and she stopped believing in them all. "We are REAL!", her father's head screamed. "No, you aren't!", Samus said. "WE ARE! WE ARE! W...", her mother began to shriek, but it was too late. Samus had already overcome her mind's hallucinations. She saw all the monsters as they really were. Just small little robots, with projectors built into them. There was still fear gas in the air, but Samus's brain wasn't affected by it anymore. Batman came up from behind her, and put his hand on her shoulder. She flinched. "Stop _doing _that!", she said. "Sorry.", said Batman. "Have you found a cure?", Samus asked. "Almost. Phazon has a very unique kind of radiation.", said Batman. " I thought you're the world's greatest detective.", Samus said. "I am. Detective work is almost never fast. It takes time and patience.", said Batman. "I doubt even you can figure this out. Even I don't know much about Phazon.", said Samus. "The Purloined Letter..", Batman said to himself. "I'm sorry?", Samus said. "It's a detective story, by Edgar Allan Poe. You don't know him, but he was a famous writer from the 1800s. He often wrote horror stories, but he also wrote a story where the answer to a mystery was in plain sight. I'll bet the answer to our problem is obvious. It's so obvious, I'll bet, that we can't see it.", said Batman. "Maybe. Any more _tests_ for me? The last one was easy.", said Samus. "Well, since you've overcome your fears, you must now learn how to defeat an opponent, using your mind.", Batman said. Suddenly, the elevator doors opened, and out walked a man wearing a formal blue suit, the kind that businessmen wore. He was wearing a red tie and white shirt underneath his jacket. He was also wearing dress shoes and slacks to match his outfit. Even with his glasses, though, Samus could still see the dark blue color of his eyes. "Who's he?", Samus whispered to Batman. "Samus, meet Clark Kent, reporter for the Daily Planet in Metropolis. Clark Kent, meet Samus Aran, bounty hunter for the Galactic Federation.", said Batman. "Pleased to meet you.", Clark said. He held out his hand, and Samus shook it. "Clark, if you would be so kind?", Batman said. "Sure thing, Bruce." Clark removed his business attire, and underneath was another suit. It was colored red and blue, but the belt around Clark's waist was yellow. His boots and cape were red. A red S with a yellow background was emblazoned on his chest. "Clark Kent, a.k.a. Superman, the last living being from planet Krypton.", said Batman. "Why's he here?", asked Samus. "He's your test. You have to defeat him. He has super strength, x-ray vision, heat vision, Arctic breath, and flying abilities. Good luck.", said Batman. "Wait...", Samus began, but Superman was already flying at her. She dodged out of the way of his attack, and jumped to the side. Superman turned around to face her, and suddenly blew a great gust of wind from his mouth. Samus got out of the way in time, and she saw that his breath had frozen a part of the cave floor. He flew at her again, and this time, he threw a punch at her. Samus ducked, and Superman punched again, this time downwards at her. She rolled to the side, and saw his fist punch through the floor. As Samus dodged each attack from Superman, she thought about what Batman had told her about fighting an enemy. _Use their own weapons against them_. That's what he had said. Samus knew now, what to do.

Superman hovered in the air, slowly circling around Samus. _She can only dodge me for so long_, he thought. _Maybe if I tried using all my abilities at once...yes, that should work_. He flew super fast at Samus once more, but she had already guessed his before he had even made it. He flew downwards, breathing Arctic breath from his mouth and blasting heat vision from his eyes. The frustrated Kryptonian started to flail his arms and legs randomly, and kept flying towards Samus. Batman looked on as Samus suddenly jumped on top of Superman, and, with one fluid movement, grabbed his arms. She positioned them on his head and neck so that, using her own arms, she could break Superman's neck. "That's enough.", said Batman. Samus got off of Superman, allowing him to stand up. "You...could have killed me.", he said in amazement. "You're now fully ready.", said Batman. "It's a good thing not all of my enemies can think like you two.", Superman said. With that, he walked towards his pile of civilian clothes, gathered them up, and went to the elevator. "Nice meeting you, Samus. See you, Bruce." Batman and Samus watched the doors close on him.

"Even the best superpowers can be overcome.", said Batman. "Somehow, I doubt that.", Samus replied. "It's true. I've defeated dozens of foes who have superpowers, who are supposed to be stronger than me. I've beaten the _hell_ out of people stronger than Superman.", said Batman. "Such as?", Samus asked skeptically. "There was once a man named The Key, who possessed extremely powerful telekinetic powers. He could take control of entire cities, and I still beat him." "And you did this _how_?" "Simple. Telekinesis only works on people who allow it to affect them. In other words, people with very strong-willed minds are unaffected by it. As a result of not allowing The Key to manipulate my mind, my body has become immune to any telekinetic attacks. Now no one can use any mind-control techniques against me.", Batman said. "I'll bet you couldn't beat supernatural enemies.", said Samus. "I've fought some of the most evil things on this planet. There was a legendary monster that supposedly lived in the northern regions of Canada, called the Wendigo. It was once a man who ate human flesh. His obsession eventually consumed him, and he transformed into a terrible beast.", Batman said. "And?" "And, I've traveled there. I've fought and killed him.", Batman explained. "What about ghosts?", Samus asked. As she said this, she remembered the Chozo ghosts that she had met in Chozodia, on planet Zebes. "There is a monster that has come back from the dead numerous times. His name is Solomon Grundy. Before Gotham became a city, a man was murdered, and his body was thrown into a swamp. That swamp still exists, and it's only a short distance from Gotham. It's known as Slaughter Swamp. There is a month called October, and on the 31st day of it, Solomon Grundy crawls out of the swamp, and tries to find people to kill." "Any idea why he does this?", asked Samus. "Revenge, maybe. Other than that, not really.", Batman replied.

Down in the East End of Gotham City, in a cheap motel room where he was hiding out, Jonathan Crane was getting ready to strike out again at the Batman. He had packed his Scarecrow costume, complete with his sackcloth mask and straw hat. He also had his fear gas capsules, ready to explode. Finally, he had two weapons in case his gas failed; a Raptor magnum and a hunting knife. Once he closed his briefcase, he took off his glasses, rubbed his eyes, and ran his hands through his black hair. He had bright blue eyes, but they didn't match his face. They somehow made him look more dangerous. Crane got into bed. It would be a big day for him tomorrow...

A Space Pirate Cruiser orbited the Earth. "Have you found the coordinates?", asked the commander to the pilot. "Yes, sir. They are in the planet's western hemisphere." "Very good, pilot. Get us there, on the double.", the commander said. "Right away, sir." The pilot activated the Cruiser's engines and blasted into Earth's atmosphere, heading for Gotham. The commander walked through the ship's various passageways, and eventually made it into a throne room. He knelt to the creature that was sitting on the throne in front of him. "Any word on where Samus Aran is?", Ridley asked. "Yes, my lord. Our squadron that fled to Earth was recently rescued by our ship. They know where Aran is situated. It is a city that is in one of Earth's west continents. We are heading there as we speak.", he said. "Excellent. Soon we shall destroy Samus Aran once and for all.", Ridley said jubilantly. "Er...there is a slightly disconcerting bit of information that I must share with you, my lord." "_Which is?_", Ridley said as his eyes narrowed. "It seems that when our squadron was escaping from their battle with Aran, they saw a mysterious looking figure fighting alongside her against the supersoldier. This entity was clothed in black armor, from head to foot. It also appeared to have wings, and it looked much like the screech bats on SR388. It has amazing agility and fighting abilities. It demonstrated excessive levels of hand-to-hand combat, the likes of which we have never seen before. Indeed, its martial art capabilities surpass even that of Aran's.", said the commander. "While that may present a potential problem later on, I hardly think that martial arts will do much good against your soldiers weapons and armor. I doubt that this being could even take on an average Space Pirate.", said Ridley. "Actually, sir, he defeated the supersoldier in less than 5 seconds.", the commander replied. "I am not worried about that. I only wanted that supersoldier so that we could take his DNA and infuse it into our own army. Besides, he was only a prototype, and he was not armored at all." "If you say so, my lord." "You may go.", said Ridley. The commander quickly bowed and walked out. Ridley stood up from his throne, walked to the center of the massive room, and flexed his wings. Ridley was exactly 20 feet tall, and his wings were roughly 25 feet long. He was now more cyborg than dragon. Parts of his arms were machine, while his legs were completely mechanical. His wings were mostly unharmed, but were still encased in armor. His lungs, liver, spleen, and intestines were all gone, replaced with artificial constructs. His heart was the most intact organ in his whole body. It could still pump blood, but it was outfitted with a few metal tubes to replace the arteries that had been destroyed in his previous battle with Samus. His head was armored, as was his tail. His eyes were bright orange, making him look reptilian. While his tail was machine, Ridley had no objections. The new version of his tail contained far more power than his previously natural one. He could rip open the ship's walls with his tail, if he so wanted to. Finally, there were his claws, his wondrous weapons that had helped him win many a battle. He had torn apart enemies and disloyal Space Pirates with his own two hands. Ridley could also breath fire that was hotter than the lava in Magmoor Caverns on Tallon IV. Ridley seethed with anger at the thought of their previous battle on Zebes. He remembered himself lying on the ground, defeated, with his legs blasted off and his arms reduced to shriveled stumps. He remembered the smoking hole in his chest, and the deep wound in his neck which gushed blood. He remembered Samus standing on top of his chest, the victor. He remembered how she could have simply blown his head off and ended him right then and there, and how she foolishly gave him a chance at survival by walking away. Finally, he remembered the squadron of Space Pirates that found him and saved his life by repairing his broken body. He certainly had a lot to be thankful for, indeed. At the moment, he thought of the exact actions that he would do when he defeated Samus. First, he would shatter her Chozo armor, and then humiliate her by stripping her clothing off in front of his comrades. Then, he'd tear off her arms and legs. After that, he'd peel the flesh off her torso and expose her ribcage. He would then tear out her organs, and finish it all by ripping her head off and grinding it up in between his razor-sharp teeth. Her body parts would then be hung in his throne room as a tribute to his greatest victory. Ridley got excited just thinking about it. He would kill Samus Aran, slowly and painfully...

Batman was surveying the photographs of the supersoldier's blood cells. They had a sickly purple color to them, with black spots. This obviously was due to the Phazon that had corrupted his cells. Batman looked at the pictures on his computer screen, and back down at the small blood sample in his petri dish. He had tried numerous treatments, to no avail. This radiation was unlike anything he had seen before. "Any luck, Master Bruce?", asked Alfred. He was looking over Batman's shoulder at the screen. "So far, Alfred, absolutely none at all." "Well, sir, I deeply hope that you find a cure soon. Miss Aran is growing impatient of you.", said Alfred. "Hm...", Batman grunted. "Might I suggest fighting radiation with an equal amount of another kind?", Alfred asked. "...Alfred, you're a genius!", said Batman. He got up from his chair and ran towards the elevator that led to the deeper part of the cave. "Where are you going, Master Bruce?" "To find a cure.", Batman replied.


End file.
